Ray Jardine

en.wikipedia.org | rayjardine.com

Quick Info

From: USA 🇺🇸
Hardest Trad (Worked): E7

Ray Jardine is an American rock climber. He is well known for inventing Cams which ushered in a revolution in trad climbing, making climbs that were previously unprotectable possible.

Ray put his new invention to excellent use, establishing routes such as The Phoenix in 1977, then one of the hardest trad routes in the world.

More controversially he was also involved in chipping on El Capitan, in particular in an early attempt to free climb The Nose he chipped holds on what is now known as The Jardine Traverse as well as purposefully using pegs to enlarge peg scars and make free climbing those pitches easier.

References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/C0V_Im8tneX/

Contributors
3 contributions since 26th February 2021.

Quick Info

From: USA 🇺🇸
Hardest Trad (Worked): E7

Ray Jardine is an American rock climber. He is well known for inventing Cams which ushered in a revolution in trad climbing, making climbs that were previously unprotectable possible.

Ray put his new invention to excellent use, establishing routes such as The Phoenix in 1977, then one of the hardest trad routes in the world.

More controversially he was also involved in chipping on El Capitan, in particular in an early attempt to free climb The Nose he chipped holds on what is now known as The Jardine Traverse as well as purposefully using pegs to enlarge peg scars and make free climbing those pitches easier.

References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/C0V_Im8tneX/

Contributors
3 contributions since 26th February 2021.

Pics + Vids

No pics or vids yet.

Ascents

2 recorded ascents.

Climb Grade Style Ascent Date Suggested Grade
Climb Grade Style Ascent Date Suggested Grade
Climb Grade Style Ascent Date Suggested Grade
Ray's Roof E7 Lead | ground up 1977
First ascent.
The Phoenix E7 Lead | worked May 1977
First ascent. 14 attempts.

An incredible ascent for it's time, combining cutting edge difficulty with the technical innovation of friends, which Jardine invented and put to good use on routes like this.

Gripped.com:

In 1977, armed with a handful of Friends, Jardine rappelled into The Phoenix project. Instead of lowering after he fell, he hung and worked out the moves. Though other Valley climbers scorned his hangdogging, Jardine pushed through. On his 14 try, he climbed the route, protecting it with nuts and pins at the bottom and Friends on the splitter.

“The Phoenix is the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” said Jardine in a 1979 Mountain Magazine interview. Not only had Jardine shown what cams and hangdogging could do, he’d also established the world’s first 5.13 trad route. [2]

References

[1] https://www.facebook.com/climbing.in.the.80s/photos/a.270388289694020/511968895535957

[2] This was the World's First 13a Trad Climb, Gripped.com 6th December 2022 https://gripped.com/routes/this-was-the-worlds-first-5-13-trad-climb/
Climb Grade Style Ascent Date Suggested Grade